


Even Stars Burn Out

by Demi_Fae



Series: Whumptober 2020 [12]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26966287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demi_Fae/pseuds/Demi_Fae
Summary: “No no no- Anakin!” He fell to his knees next to the body of his former padawan. Up close Anakin looked even worse, golden skin pale and breath shallow. “Oh, Anakin,” he whispered as he saw the damage to his chest. Whatever had hit him had been large and heavy, enough to break nearly every rib and cave in his chest.“Shh, no, dear one, I’ve got you,” Obi-Wan whispered as he brushed blood off of Anakin’s lips.“Obi- I don’t-” Anakin coughed again and more drops appeared. They stained his skin even after Obi-Wan desperately brushed them away with shaking hands. This couldn’t- no- Obi-Wan choked back a sob as Anakin choked back blood.-Day 12:Broken Down|Broken Bones| Broken Trust
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Whumptober 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930612
Comments: 12
Kudos: 86





	Even Stars Burn Out

They were two halves of the same soul, one mind in two bodies as they fought. They were completely synchronous in all their movements, entwined as deeply in the Force as two beings could be. It hummed around them, blocking out the sounds of clones yelling and blaster bolts being fired and deflected. 

They were not Obi-Wan and Anakin anymore, not Kenobi and Skywalker, they were just them. That was all that mattered, being together in the Force and keeping each other safe. There wasn’t anything that could touch them like this. 

Until, of course, something did. 

They weren't sure where it came from. Not a blaster bolt but something much larger, just fast enough or shot at the perfect time that neither of them blocked it. 

Obi-Wan stumbled and slid to the ground and his presence was forcibly ripped from Anakin’s. The pain flooding through their bond- he couldn’t focus on anything for a few precious seconds as his vision went white. 

There wasn’t enough air in his lungs, too much noise in his ears- there was dust in his mouth and hands on his arms and he _still couldn’t see-_ but nothing mattered more than searing edge of the bond in his head and he screamed as Obi-Wan realized that _he_ wasn’t _they_ anymore. 

"General! We need to get you out of here!" His men yelled at him, pulled him up off the ground and tried to pull him away from the battle, but Obi-Wan wouldn’t let them. Not until he found Anakin, where was he, what had happened- 

There. Obi-Wan saw Anakin’s dark tunics in the corner of his eye, knocked back away from where they had been and surrounded by the white and blue of his men. He was lying far too still. 

“No no no- Anakin!” Hands caught him again as he tripped over himself in his rush to get to the younger man. Obi-Wan shook them off and continued, refusing to leave until Anakin would be going with him. His men let him leave, knowing it would be useless to try and convince him otherwise. 

He fell to his knees next to the body of his former padawan. Up close Anakin looked even worse, golden skin pale and breath shallow. His limbs twitched in pain with every breath he took and Obi-Wan could barely make it out as muddled as their bond was.

“Oh, Anakin,” he whispered as he saw the damage. Whatever had hit him had been large and heavy, enough to break nearly every rib and cave in his chest. Anakin's tunics were already stained and soaked with his blood. 

“Take him to safety General, we'll cover you!” One of the clones yelled over the chaos to him. 

Obi-Wan nodded to the man and as gently as he could, wrapped his arms around Anakin to carry him away. Though he was as careful as possible the slightest movements had Anakin moaning and holding back a sob, Obi-Wan forcing back tears and whispering words of encouragement. 

He ran away from the screaming and yelling, Anakin in his arms, until the sounds of battle faded into white noise. Obi-Wan had already called the medics but there was no telling if or when they’d be able to arrive. Their aerial forces were under just as much fire as their ground troops so there would be no medevac, and they couldn’t risk their medics on the ground moving from where they were stationed and all of them being killed. They couldn’t risk the Jedi being taken out of the battle either- they were some of the best defenders and attackers with their lightsabers and the Force, an advantage sorely needed in the battle. 

Yet Obi-Wan couldn’t care less as he looked down on Anakin, heard his wheezing breaths, and felt how much pain he was in. His hands fluttered over Anakin’s chest and heart. There wasn’t anything he could do to help- Obi-Wan hadn’t been trained in healing, just taken the basic first aid courses, but they didn’t cover anything nearly this severe. 

Anakin coughed weakly on the ground under Obi-Wan, bright red drops of blood speckled the corners of his mouth. One drop hit the emerald grass surrounding them and Obi-Wan’s heart acted with the knowledge that at any other time they would have been happy lying together in the soft field. 

“Shh, no, dear one, I’ve got you,” Obi-Wan whispered as he brushed them off of Anakin’s lips. 

“Obi- I don’t-” Anakin coughed again and more drops appeared. They stained his skin even after Obi-Wan desperately brushed them away with shaking hands. _This couldn’t- no-_ Obi-Wan choked back a sob as Anakin choked back blood. 

“You're gonna be fine,” he said, desperately wishing that it was true. 

“I don’ think so,” Anakin replied. He tried to smile but all Obi-Wan could see in his eyes was pain. 

“No, no, you have to be Anakin, don’t say that- who will train Ahsoka? Who will sit with me and drink tea even though they don’t like it, who will spar me in the Temple, Anakin, no, who’ll-”

“Mas’er, you’ll have plenty of people to’do those things with- You-” he coughed again and Obi-Wan stared down at his hands covered in Anakin’s blood. “No, Anakin, they won’t _be you,_ I don’t want them if they’re not you-”

“You’ll train Ahsola for me, Mas’er, please-”

“No, you’ll train her yourself because you _will not die here-”_

“Master, you’ll be fine.” Anakin lifted a hand to Obi-Wan’s cheek and immediately he placed his own over it. Anakin’s hand was trembling and cold against his skin and he shivered at the touch for more than one reason. 

Obi-Wan let out a light sob as he could feel the last bits of Anakin’s energy leaving him. He tried to funnel his energy to him through their bond but even everything he had would never be enough to tie Anakin’s life back down. Instead he felt every strand unravel until only a few threads held them together. “Please, Anakin, dear one- they aren’t you.”

Anakin pulled his hand down lightly, and even though Obi-wan knew where this was going, went willingly. 

He’d have to have been blind to not notice Anakin’s attraction toward him. The blushing and stuttering, trying to impress Obi-Wan and make him happy. It warmed his heart and hurt him simultaneously, knowing that the Order, helping people, was supposed to come first as long as he was a Jedi. If he were to give in to Anakin, he knew that he would always choose Anakin over anyone else. He'd condemn any number of lives to save the man he loved- and oh, how Obi-Wan loved him. 

Obi-Wan let himself be pulled down into Anakin Skywalker’s gravity for the last time, struck with the realization that this was his last chance, his _only_ chance to show Anakin how he loved him. 

When their lips finally met all Obi-Wan could taste was Anakin’s blood. He could have sworn there were supposed to be fireworks when first kissing the one you loved- and yet he tasted the salt from his own tears, running down his face and mingling on their lips. 

“I lo- love you,” Anakin pushed through his lips and their bond. 

“I know,” Obi-Wan whispered back. "I love you as well, dear one, more than the stars in the sky, more than the Force, more than- more than-" Obi-Wan’s breath hitched as he couldn't continue speaking. Anakin smiled, eyes bright yet fading as everything they felt was shared between them. Through a fading bond Obi-Wan shoved the every thought he'd ever hidden from Anakin, every time he was struck by his beauty or his laugh, every time Obi-Wan yearned to kiss him softly and run his fingers through his hair. 

Anakin went limp under Obi-Wan as they shared his final moments. Obi-Wan wished he could stay suspended there for eternity. Infinite pain, as Anakin would forever be dying in his arms, but joyfulness at the thought that he would at least be alive. But even stars burn out, and Anakin Skywalker was not exempt from the rule. 

Anakin took in one last shaky breath, his eyes going hazy, and exhaled back into Obi-Wan’s mouth. His lips went cold and still under Obi-Wan’s and all he wanted to do was scream and cry out, but he couldn’t. In his lungs he held Anakin’s last breath, everything that was still living of his love. He couldn’t give that up to express a fleeting moment of pain, he had to hold it inside- 

The Force screamed in his ears, furious and mourning the death of its Son. Anakin had been ripped from life far too early, had his entire life ahead of him. _Why didn’t you protect him?_ Obi-Wan could almost hear it sob, and he wondered if it truly was the Force or himself asking the question. 

Why couldn’t Obi-Wan have died instead? He was nothing compared to the supernova that was the Chosen One, the beauty and vicsiousness that was Anakin Skywalker. He could never match his former apprentice’s grace in battle or his all- consuming love. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were never equal, never would be, but how Obi-Wan wished in this moment that they were so the Force would consider for even a moment using his life to give Anakin back. 

It hit him then, how Anakin would never be with him again. He would never again twine with the younger man in the Force and fight with him like they were doing just minutes ago, before Obi-Wan’s entire life had shattered before his eyes. He would never again hold Anakin in a hug for slightly too long or spar against him again. Obi-Wan would never again hear that voice speak- never hear it laugh or scream, sing or sob. He’d never again share a lazy morning with the man, sitting in the quiet and sipping tea or trying to convince Anakin to meditate. He’d never be able to tease him again or listen to him rable about ships and engines and driods. 

Obi-Wan would never share a kiss with Anakin that wasn’t tainted by the taste of blood. 

He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t let Anakin’s last breath into the world, where it could go anywhere. Obi-Wan had to keep it within himself as long as he could, forever, for the rest of his life. He couldn’t imagine a life without Anakin by his side, he didn’t want to. He wanted to be with him again, no matter wher that might be or what it would take. 

Obi-Wan saw his spots dance before him and his head went light and his body moved slower and slower. His ear fell to Anakin’s chest and he still half- expected to hear a heartbeat, and the silence was louder than anything else. More tears he didn’t think he had dribbled out of his eyes. 

As Obi-Wan’s vision went dim his mouth fell open and he began to breathe again. The last thing he knew was utter failure, at letting the last of Anakin leave him, and at not even being able to kill himself to join his love. 

**Author's Note:**

> uwu
> 
> You can yell at me on tumblr at [rynae-reblogs](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rynae-reblogs)


End file.
